MMS Blog
By: Eli Plaskett 20. April 2018
Cloud-Based ERP Consolidates Quoting, Enables Mobile Management
Steve Dalton of X-Mil puts data into the E2 Shop cloud-based ERP system. Machinists like him can enter data into the ERP system via tablets without leaving the machine tool.
X-Mil provides a range of turning and milling operations. These pieces are part of a roller-coaster braking system the shop machines and assembles in house.
Erica Carpenter can monitor her shop remotely using a mobile device. With the data available on her phone, “There’s no more driving to the shop at 2 a.m. because I didn’t back up the data,” she says.
The machine tool is the heart of a job shop, but while a beating heart can keep the body breathing, it takes a brain to get any work done. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software provides a shop with the interconnected nervous system that enables it to organize and plan its business effectively. With the advent of cloud technology, it can even improve a manager’s work-life balance through mobile access to shop data. Using cloud-based ERP software from Shoptech Software Corp. (Glastonbury, Connecticut), one job shop has been able to consolidate its management systems into a single platform the manager can operate from a phone.
When two engineers struck out on their own in 1998, they founded X-Mil Inc. in Mt. Orab, Ohio. Now managed by Erica Carpenter, the daughter of one of the co-founders, X-Mil is a job shop specializing in turning, milling, welding and assembly. The company has grown to a productive machine shop with 18 employees and more than a dozen turning and milling centers, performing work for the aerospace, oil and coal industries. It even fully machines and assembles roller-coaster braking systems. When Ms. Carpenter stepped into her current position, however, she recognized serious process inefficiencies.
By: Jedd Cole 19. April 2018
Manufacturing News of Note: April 2018
Steve Ortner and Hayden Wellman founded Absolute Machine Tools in 1988 in a garage. After 30 years, the company imports and distributes machine tools from more than nine OEMs, and has four direct, full-service technical centers.
Absolute Machine Tools Inc. (Lorain, Ohio) is marking its 30th year as a machine tool importer and distributor in North America.
Steve Ortner and Hayden Wellman founded the company in 1988 in a garage. While working as a representative for digital readout maker Anilam, Mr. Ortner made contact with Taiwanese machine tool manufacturer Johnford in 1990, which became the company’s first original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partner. Partnerships with You Ji and Tongtai came next, followed by relationships with Nexturn, QuickTech and Precihole.
By: Barbara Schulz 18. April 2018
How Intelligent Clamping Technology Can Contribute to Process-Flow Optimization
Metav 2018, which took place February 20-24 in Dusseldorf, Germany, was about hands-on solutions in regard to Industry 4.0, automation, digitalization and data-driven manufacturing.
Konrad Keck, head of sales for DACH region at Benz Werkzeugsysteme in Haslach, Germany, explained how angle heads can give users a competitive advantage in milling, drilling, counterboring, threading and reaming applications.
The Benz i.com Industry 4.0 app enables the continuous monitoring of production processes and minimizes machine downtime.
Josef Dechant from Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen (Regensburg, Germany) explained how the medium-size company has developed an in-house assistance system that enables the intelligent networking of all plants, systems and people involved in the production process. Called ValueFacturing, the system eliminates manual data entry and offers bidirectional online communication in real time with all machines, plants, systems and people involved in the manufacturing process and the ability to smartly enrich information.
A special theme park, "Industry 4.0," was dedicated to the digital transformation of the metalworking industry.
Hainbuch’s Toplus IQ, an intelligent clamping chuck with integrated measurement technology, is able to constantly measure the electronic clamping force and any changes during rotation. The TESTit clamping-force gage measures the effective clamping force in real time. By using the optimum clamping force, workpiece deformations and uncontrolled workpiece scrap can be prevented. To network clamping technology with the machine, Hainbuch cooperates with DMG MORI, for example, where all data generated by Toplus IQ is visualized with the Condition-Analyzer in the CELOS CNC. According to Hainbuch, there will be a similar solution for Siemens CNCs by the end of the year.
From Spring 2018, DMG MORI’s focus will be on integrated digital workflows with CELOS version 5.0, from production planning to monitoring. “Digital Tooling” is one workflow package. All of the tool information necessary for the production process can be managed centrally with this CELOS app.
The EWS-Varia VX quick-change system features a sensor that works with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology, which constantly collects data such as operating time, revolutions per minute, temperature, sealing condition, battery life, maintenance data and so on via Bluetooth. It does this without directly connecting to other systems, saving energy. The user decides when to read-out the data. Called “CyberCon4,” the sensor connects virtual data with tool-presetting parameters, the machine control and data management in a cloud. According to EWS, algorithms derive maintenance intervals, which previously has not been possible.
Schunk showcased fully automatic chuck jaw change via a FANUC robot. The robot loads the PEK 20 interchangeable inserts and locks them in the the TRP 200-1 supporting jaw. The robot loads machines and unloads the workpiece. The PEK 20 inserts are unlocked again, removed from the chuck and returned to their storage rack.
Roemheld showcased bore clamps for five-sided machining and optimum workpiece accessibility. The bore clamps are particularly well suited for clamping workpieces with smooth bore holes with diameters ranging from 7.8 to 17.7 mm in the support surface. The size of the possible machining forces is certainly limited using this type of clamping, especially crosswise to the clamping surface, Roemheld says. Except for the static-friction force between the workpiece and the support, the bore clamp cannot compensate any side loads.
VDW, the German Machine Tool Builders' Association, Executive Director Dr. Wilfried Schäfer presented the first interim results of VDW's project "Connectivity for Industry 4.0" at the Metav 2018 opening press conference. The aim is to develop a standard for linking a range of disparate machine control systems to a shared interface (a connector) and to create the necessary software to do so. After a core team had been involved in the first phase of the project with companies DMG MORI, Emag, Grob, Heller, Liebherr-Verzahntechnik, United Grinding and Trumpf since 2017, VDW now announced that CNC suppliers including Beckhoff, Bosch Rexroth, FANUC, Heidenhain and Siemens look forward to collaborating with VDW in this project.
“Meat or cheese?” is a commonly asked question in short-haul flights when snacks are offered. Messe Stuttgart invited media representatives, colleagues and friends to their booth to promote upcoming trade shows such as Lasys, AMB and Moulding-Expo. Manager of Messe Stuttgart’s industrial events, Gunnar Mey served drinks and food.
Metav, the Düsseldorf, Germany-based show that takes place biennially in February, faces the burden of occurring only a few months after the world's biggest metalworking show, EMO Hannover, and a few months before world events such as AMB, the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) and the Japan International Machine Tool Fair (JIMTOF). As a result, exhibitors use the show to connect with customers from Northern Germany and don't necessarily present world-introduction solutions.
Therefore, for my coverage of the event, I focused on what is new in clamping technology, toolholding and workholding—areas in which customers are increasingly benefiting from solutions designed for the age of Industry 4.0. Exhibitors had a number of intelligent workholding and toolholding solutions for automation and networked manufacturing up their sleeves. Digital-workflow data collected from these “smart” devices can be used to manage process flows, and productivity can be increased by performing the appropriate analysis and data processing. Similarly, some new clamping technology generates data that can contribute to process-flow optimization. For example, tooling and maintenance times can be reduced in advance and the machine time can be used for production instead.
Click through the slideshow above to see a sampling of some of those technologies I spotted at the show.
By: Tim Pennington 17. April 2018
Surface Finishing Industry Meets for Sur/Fin 2018
Sur/Fin is where surface-technology companies connect, collaborate and contribute. It is the primary conference and trade show dedicated specifically to the surface technology industry. Register today.
If you are connected to the surface finishing industry through machining or manufacturing materials, then Cleveland, Ohio, is where you will want to be June 4-6 when the community gathers at the Sur/Fin Manufacturing and Technology Trade Show and Conference hosted by the National Association for Surface Finishing (NASF).
“With more than 80 technical presentation and over 180 experts in the industry on hand, Sur/Fin is the place to learn, meet and discover all the latest in technology and innovations,” says Matt Akin, chairperson of the Sur/Fin Conference.
By: Mark Albert 16. April 2018
Cable-Free Tombstones Bring New Life to HMC Operations
One side of the five-axis tombstone shows it arranged for four rotary-indexing platters. The platters operate independently, so different parts can be mounted on the tombstone for machining in one setup.
A part 7 inches wide or smaller can be accommodated on each platter. Platters extend only a couple inches from the face of the tombstone to free up space in the HMC’s workzone.
The powercell, which holds a lithium-ion battery, can be recharged on a special station away from the HMC. A recharged powercell slides in place on the mating fixture at the top of the tombstone.
One of the key benefits of using a horizontal machining center (HMC) is the option to mount workpieces on a tombstone. Multiple workpieces can be mounted per side. Indexing the tombstone on the machine’s rotary table makes another set of workpieces accessible for machining. The more sides on the tombstone, the more sets of parts that can be machined without operator attention or idle time for a pallet change. The productivity gains can be substantial.
KME CNC (Irvine, California) has added some new twists and turns to this scenario—both literally and figuratively speaking. Literally, new twists and turns are represented by the rotary capabilities of its five-axis tombstones. These tombstones provide programmable rotary platters enabling the HMC to do five-sided machining. The machine’s three linear axes can combine with the coordinated rotary indexing motion of the platters and the rotary motion of the machine’s worktable to reach five sides of each workpiece on the face of the tombstone—and do some operations with all five axes moving at once (of course, the orientation of the cutting tool in the horizontal spindle cannot be programmed, so this is not five-axis machining for contours or sculptured surfaces). These rotary platters add greatly to the flexibility of the HMC’s machining capability, applications manager Jerome Mel says.
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